


I've Been Cursed, This Is The Worst

by mellojello999



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Feelings Realization, Gen, Hoshigao Week 2020, I did my best man, M/M, Mild Language, Not Beta Read, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Royalty AU, Witch Curses, a couple swears, curse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:34:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26021260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mellojello999/pseuds/mellojello999
Summary: HoshiGao Week 2020Day 1: ForbiddenKorai has been cursed by a witch so that he will have a horrible fate if he should ever fall in love with anyone taller than him. Enter Hakuba Gao, a giant and a giant pain in the ass, for Korai's heart that is.
Relationships: Hoshiumi Kourai/Hakuba Gao
Comments: 8
Kudos: 8





	I've Been Cursed, This Is The Worst

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, welcome!
> 
> Is this fic well written and in character? I have no idea but I wanted to make content for this joke fan week so badly that this is now something that exists. I hope you enjoy!!!

Prince Kourai and Prince Akitomo were playing in the forest. It was not usually good for children to be running through the forest alone but to their parent’s credit, they were sent with a chaperone initially. They just ditched him the moment they got the chance.

Akitomo was the adventurous sort and loved to run through the trees and undergrowth in search of forest creatures and weird plants. His brother Kourai who was equally adventurous ran after as younger siblings often do. His shorter height and legs made it a little bit harder for him to leap over logs and the like but he managed to keep up.

“Kourai, if you get lost I’m not going to look for you and you are going to have to live in the forest with the bears! You should go back to the babysitter!” Akitomo called.

“No way, I don't need to be babysat! I can keep you just fine, I’ll even catch you!” Kourai shouted back. And they ran and ran through the forest. The world of green flew by him but Kourai’s eyes were trained on the dark blue cloak that his brother wore. He wasn’t even looking where he was going until the undergrowth gave way to some soil that was not natural for a forest floor. His feet were sinking into the earth and he stumbled to a stop.

Kourai looked at his feet and the ruined plants that were riddled with his footprints. 

“Oh man, we just ran through someone’s garden, we have to get out of here!” Akitomo yelled before running away.

Kourai was about to run after him when he felt a hand grip his wrist. He turned around and to his horror, he came face to face with a gnarled old woman, hunched over and covered in a shawl.

“You dare come here and stomp all over my herbs and have the nerve to just run off?” She scolded in her scratchy voice. Kourai was terrified and tried to wrench his arm away but her grip was strong for an old woman and he couldn’t escape. I’ll teach you to destroy someone’s plants with your dirty feet!! Kourai wanted to ask how the plants could be dirty when they were planted in the dirt but he was too terrified by the sensation that was running through his body from the point where the old woman was holding him. “I’m going to put a curse on you, boy! I’m going to curse you so that you will never be able to fall in love with anyone taller than you! If you do, you lose your sight, then your sense of taste, then hearing and your voice will follow. And in the end, you will die a horrible death!” She rattled off. What a long curse, but it was still terrifying! “Now, get out of here!” She shrieked and with a flash of light, Kourai found himself at the forest’s edge, shaken and with the words of the old woman’s curse echoing in his head.

\---

That was a long time ago now. Now, Kourai was 18 and he was still short. He never ended up hitting the growth spurt and it was confirmed that he had taken after his mother in the height department when he had to fight for inch after agonizing inch of height. It didn’t really bother him too much, because he was a firm believer that height was not what made someone competent and he had never met anyone who made him want to fall in love. What good was the curse anyway if he never fell in love in the first place? That witch should have done something smarter if she wanted to make Kourai suffer, like turn his hair into soft cheese or make all of his fingers thumbs. 

Speaking of cheese, Kourai was rummaging through the kitchen looking for a snack to eat while he skipped out on his afternoon lessons. If there was one advantage to being small, it was that it just made him that much harder to catch. After snatching what he craved from the kitchens, Kourai ran through the halls to the courtyard where his favorite tree grew. It was his own secret hiding spot from his tutor, no one knew that he sat way up in the highest branches and he was practically invisible from the ground below. Well, actually there was one person who knew he was up there, stupid Akitomo, but after Kourai caught him sneaking some of the liquor from the cellar he had secured the secrecy of his hiding spot. 

Once he got to the branch that was the perfect place for him to sit with his back against the trunk Kourai settled in to hide for the next hour. He munched on his cheese and gazed out to the sea that lay just beyond the walls of their castle. He would never admit it to anyone, but part of the reason that he liked to sit upon this tree was so he could feel tall for just a moment. Sometimes, he thought about how the curse that he had was way worse for shorter people than it was for taller people. If Akitomo had been the one who got caught and cursed, then he probably wouldn't even care, because there were so few people who were taller than him and would probably never face the negative effects of the curse. But for Kourai, his options were limited. He told himself that it didn’t matter because he didn’t need anything lame like romantic love but he also wasn’t a fool. He had heard the story. Love didn’t have to make sense, and if he ever falls into its trap with the handicap of the curse then things could turn out to be damaging, either emotionally or physically and he wasn’t really into that.

“KOURAI!!!” A voice came from below and someone had thrown something up into the tree. He hated to say it but he was startled enough to lose his balance and fall out of the tree. He braced himself for impact but instead of slamming into the earth, he was caught by a pair of strong arms.

When he opened his eyes he found himself face to face with some guy he had never seen before. His heart was beating faster than it ever had been before, but that was because he just fell out of a tree, not because someone who wasn’t definitely ugly just saved him from bodily harm. But nevertheless, he had to put some distance between them before he got too flustered.

“Okay, put me down. PUT ME DOWN” Kourai demanded.

“Sheesh, thanks would be nice…” The stranger mumbled.

Kourai brushed himself off when he finally had both feet on the ground. Looking at the guy now, he realized that he was really tall, ugh. “Who are you anyway?”

“Kourai, this is Gao, he and his family are visiting from the next kingdom over, remember? You were supposed to skip lessons today and greet them?” Akitomo said with a smirk. Aw shit, Kourai forgot. “That’s okay, you can be Gao’s guide, for now, to make up for it.”

“Huh?? What about you, weren’t you supposed to be the guide?” Kourai squawks. 

“Hmm yea, but I actually want to go do something else. Besides, if you show him around Mom probably won’t be so pissed at you.” Man, Kourai hated it when Akitomo was right. “Yup thought so. Just make sure to bring him back by dinner!” and he was off, leaving Gao and Kourai alone.

“Man, I hate that guy.”

“Isn’t he your brother?

“Yea, but that doesn’t make him any less of a jerk.” Kourai took a second look at the guy towering next to him. “Just how tall are you anyway?”

“I’m 6’ 8’’”

“Tch. Whatever. Okay, I guess I’m supposed to walk you around, what do you want to see?”

\---

And since becoming Gao’s personal guide, Kourai ended up seeing him every day. Even if he was trying to lay low (not hide, Hoshiumi Kourai NEVER hides) Gao would seek him out and follow him around until they HAD to hang out. At first, he found it very irritating that someone so large kept trying to follow him around, he who was swift and fast like a bird of the sea. But, the more he and Gao spent time together, laughing and being stupid, the feeling in his chest from the first time he saw Gao kept returning and getting stronger.

He had an inkling of dread wheedle its way into the stomach, a suspicion of what could be happening, but he shoved it aside and tried to ignore it. Tried to focus on all of the things that he found annoying and horrible about Gao. Like how he was so large! Too big and clumsy for Kourai’s taste. But, Gao did give him a hug goodnight once, and that felt kind of nice... Or how Gao didn’t know how to cut a mango! He tried to peel it like an idiot the first time Kourai handed him one and honestly, it was sort of cute… and the face he made when Kourai gave him a piece of his mango was also sort of cute. Gah!!! OR THE WORST THING OF ALL, the way that Gao looked down on him! He supposed it wasn’t his fault, he was taller than Kourai and there wasn’t another way for Gao to look at him. But, the way he tilted his head and smiled at him! Kourai was royalty, he knew what fake polite smiles looked like and Gao didn’t show him those kinds of smiles. They were big and wide and showed too many teeth! But, Kourai did notice that whenever Gao laughed and smiled at him he couldn't help but smile himself... GRAAAHHH!!! It was fine. It was all fine. He could still see, which meant that he hadn’t fallen in love yet. And he wouldn’t let himself get to the point of falling in love! HE WOULDN’T!!

\---

It all came to a head one day when Kourai and Gao were sitting together under the tall tree in the courtyard, where they first met. He had wanted to avoid being around Gao until he had to go back to his own kingdom. But, thanks to Akitomo showing Gao where Kourai liked to hide, he was found almost immediately. The sun was high but here under the shade with cold flasks of water they were cool.

“Kourai. I have something I want to confess.” Gao started quietly.

“Whatever it is, I don’t want to hear it,” Kourai answered immediately.

“What, please, I… I will be heading back to my own kingdom soon and I can’t keep it to myself any longer!”

“Well, you can say out loud if you want, just not while I’m anywhere near you,” Kourai said, making his move to stand up, but was stopped by a hand on his shirt.

“No! Kourai, I have to say it to you or it doesn’t mean anything! I really li--” Gao was cut off by Kourai shoving his head into the grass.

“DON’T YOU SAY ANOTHER WORD, IT IS FORBIDDEN!!!” Kourai yelled and he sprinted away. Gao was stunned for a moment before he too scrambled to chase after Kourai.

\---

Kourai ran down the dock by the lake, ignoring Gao’s calls to stop. Before he could jump in and swim away he was caught by the wrist and spun around

“No! I told you, it is forbidden! Don’t you have ears!!” Kourai yelled, his shout carrying over the empty lake.

Gao’s voice was muffled by Kourai’s hand shoved in his face “What are you talking about my love, can two men not love each other in your kingdom?” He grabs Kourai’s wrist and kisses the back of his hand. “Then I shall take you back to mine where we can love freely and happily!” 

Kourai blushed and wrenched his hand back. “You don’t understand! I…’ Kourai turned away. “...Have a terrible curse, set upon me by a witch in my youth, that if I fall in love with anyone taller than me, I will first lose my sight, then taste, then hearing, then my voice, and then I will die a painful death.” He recited, just as the witch had told him all those years ago.

“That’s… an oddly specific and drawn out curse,” Gao responded, and Kourai could only nod in agreement.

“So you understand, that I cannot fall in love with you.” 

“So what, you are just going to give up? Give up on us?” Gao asked in desperation.

“What else am I to do, what else is there to be done? Besides, I never said I liked you back.”

“The witch! I will go and seek her out and demand that she lifts the curse.” Gao exclaimed.

“You, you would do that? For me?” 

“Of course I would, I love you!”

“What if I don’t end up falling in love with you after all?” Kourai questioned.

“I would do it to give us a chance, and if that doesn’t work out to give you the freedom to love whoever you want! Everyone deserves that right.” Gao said, looking deep into his eyes and taking a step closer.

“Stop saying stuff like that, before I fall in love with you and start losing my senses.”

“Are you saying that it is a possibility? Are you close to falling in love with me?”

“NO! I said no such thing! Stop putting words in my mouth! But… I wouldn’t say that it is impossible.” 

“Kourai!” Gao gushed as he tried to kiss him, and was greeted with a foot in his face.

“STOP WITH THE KISSING, YOU HEAR ME??”

\---

Taking Gao into the forest was sort of a shot in the dark. It had been so many years ago, and he didn’t even remember how he even came to find the garden, just that he had to run as fast as he could to keep up with Akitomo. But, he figured witches were a mystical thing and if you thought about them hard enough as you were wondering you would eventually end up in their presence.

“Are you sure that would work? Maybe we should ask around or put out a flyer…”

“WE’LL DO THAT IF THIS DOESN’T WORK, ALRIGHT??” Kourai yelled in the quiet forest. They continued to bicker and walk until Kourai felt a familiar sensation of the unnatural ground causing his foot to sink into the dirt.

“Ugh, what am I stepping on?” and they both look down to see trampled greens under their boots.”

“Aw shit-”

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT HERE??”

Both of them whipped their heads to the sound of the voice and saw an old and shriveled woman who was even shorter than Kourai looked up at them with a pinched frown. Kourai couldn’t help but stare, she didn’t look like she had aged a bit from when he was a child.

When the old woman’s eyes landed on Korai, her frown deepened and she squinted at him. “Hey, wait a minute, I remember you. You were that kid who came here a while back and oh yeah, you stomped all over my plants that time too!” She looked him up and down “I guess that curse really did a number on ya, huh? You didn’t grow too much from the last time I saw ya”

Hoshiumi bristled, but Gao spoke before he could explode. “Please miss, we have to come to ask you to lift the curse off of him so that we may marry.”

“Marry?!? I never said I’d marry you!!” Kourai yelled.

The old witch looked at them and stroked her chine. “So you ended up falling in love with someone above your height huh?”

“I NEVER said we were in love-”

“Yes, it is true, and I’ve come to ask you to help us, or I will be forced to destroy you!”

“Woah, don’t you think that’s a little much? She’s just an old--”

“Why should I help you?? You come here to ask something of me and trample over my plants, just like he did when he got the curse!” She said, motioning to the destruction at their feet.

“Please! That was a mistake on our part, and we are both sorry! If you are willing to help, I promise that we will compensate you for the plants.” Gao begged.

“And what if I say no?”

“Then I personally will come to your house every day until I can convince you!”

“No, no no no. I do not want that. How about this, if it means neither of you will ever come near me ever again, I will lift the curse.”

“Yes! It is a deal!” And Gao grabbed Kourai by the shoulders to stand in front of the witch. He was just about to snap at Gao for man-handling him when the feeling of an old wrinkled hand on his wrist stopped him in his tracks. Then, just like all those years ago, he felt a jolt travel through his body, going from his outer limbs to his heart.

“There, the curse is gone, now GET OUT OF HERE!!!” the witch yelled, and in a blink of an eye Gao and Kourai were standing at the edge of the forest. Kourai was stunned, blinking his big eyes at the absurdity of what he had just witnessed. A curse that he had carried for years gone, just like that.

“Isn’t this wonderful Kourai!” Gao said full of delight! “You are free!”

“Yea, uh, I guess that it's pretty cool.”

“Now, I hope you will let me court you until you fall in love with me completely!”

“Hold on a second, you are getting pretty ahead of yourself aren’t you?” Kourai said, trying to slow things down. But one look at Gao’s dampened mood made him feel bad, just a little bit. 

“What? Are you saying you don’t want to be courted by me?”

“Now, I didn’t say that either. I guess… I wouldn’t mind it too much, but we just met the other week, don’t go spouting that lovey-dovey stuff until we get to know each other better” Kourai mumbled. He wanted to keep it cool but he could feel a blush heating up his face. But, the embarrassment was almost worth it when he saw the hopeful look on Gao’s face. 

“Oh Kourai, you will not regret it!” And Gao picked up Kourai around the waist and hoisted him up in his arms, attempting to press a kiss to his face. But, was blocked by two vicious hands.

“Nope! No, you are not kissing me yet!” Kourai protested. Things were moving so quickly for him, someone who had thought just hours ago that this romance was doomed to kill him. But Gao didn’t look discouraged. If anything, from the grin on his face and the way he looked at Kourai it was almost like Kourai, had declared his love for Gao instead of pushed him away. 

“You are right, it’s not the time for a kiss yet! I will do things properly and take you on plenty of dates before we get to that part!” Gao said with a voice full of enthusiasm.

Kourai was strong, the strongest person he knew in fact! But even he wasn’t strong enough to be able to withstand the infectious eagerness that Gao had. Perhaps it was the fact that without the curse there was no unconscious fear of falling in love that made him feel so giddy at the thought of being in love. But whatever, no sense in dwelling on it for too long. Kourai returned Gao’s jovial grin and both of them walked back to the kingdom together.

**Author's Note:**

> HAHA THANK YOU FOR READING!!! I hope you enjoyed it and maybe feel inspired to love HoshiGao!
> 
> I can be found here... [tumblr](https://mellojello999.tumblr.com/) \+ [twitter](https://twitter.com/mellojello999) @mellojello999 !!!


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